Today's post is brought to you by the letter 'C'.

I'm back after a bout of blogging fatigue, with a bitty, fractured post about some things, in the hope that it will get me back on the horse, so to speak....


As a blogger, I get some right shit flung my way via MySpace and the like. Not to go all biting the hand that feeds on you lot, as I do want people to send me stuff. I like it. It's nice. It's just that most of the time, it isn't really worth the solicitation. There are reasons why some people aren't signed, you know?

Anyway, I digress. Leo from Hole In The Sky Records (hope you don't mind me using your name, Leo) got in touch to let me know about the forthcoming release of Canyons' Lovemore EP. Having heard the last thing HITS put out (the Fred Cherry/The Templates 10" last year) and having loved it, I literally begged him to send me this. That's a lie, actually. He offered and I accepted, graciously.

Canyons are a two-piece from Australia (also home to HITS) and despite the fact that Australia's contribution to dance music can be summed up in two words - The Avalanches - Lovemore more than marks Canyons out as ones to keep an eye out for. They share The Avalanches cut-and-paste attitude but rather than going down the hip-hop route, Canyons prefer a more soulful, discoid approach, with elements of jackin' Chicago house thrown in for good measure. They call it "pineapple club music", whatever the hell that is, but I know I'm hungry for more. Lovemore is out later this month and there's an album in the pipeline. Whatever they release from here on in, I'm sure it'll be grand. See what I did there?! Clever aren't I?

Canyons - Apples And Pears (mp3) (link removed)


I've been listening to this thing a lot lately. It's a Carl Craig mix album, but here's the twist, all the tracks are Carl Craig productions! Imagine that! It's a C2-fest, mixed with crowdpleasing fluidity and energy by the man himself, but - and it's a big one - I can't really see the point in it, other than to act as a primer for Craig's considerable output.

The man has a recognisable style that he seems to have honed almost to the point of muscle memory these days, but he's never boring, which makes this a really good two-disc mix. It feels like a bit of a cash-in though for a man who seemingly thrives on integrity and credibility. That said though, if you want an easy introduction to the legend, Sessions could well be the album for you. Would it have killed them to have thrown on an unmixed disc though?

Delia Gonzalez & Gavin Russom - Relevee (Carl Craig Sessions Remix) (mp3)

Some other stuff I'm liking lately...

Get behind France for this year's Eurovision, as this is their entry...

Sebastien Tellier - Divine (mp3)

Adem covers Aphex Twin and doesn't fuck it up...

Adem - To Cure A Weakling Child/Boy Girl Song (mp3)

"AGGGHHHH! C'MON FUCK A GUY!"

In other news, I recorded a segment on Trus'me's Working Nights LP on Blog Fresh Radio. I say that 'At The Disco' starts with a sample from the film, Jackie Brown. I lied. It doesn't. A couple other tracks on that album do, but not that one. Sorry Trus'me. Am I still allowed to come to Prime Numbers?

Also, there's some reviews wot I done up on High Voltage; Spektrum live and Les Savy Fav and Hercules And Love Affair singles. Read them if you dare!

I'll be back soon - honest - with more stuff about music.

JMx

"Then you think again..."

I sent an email to Jon from Black Country Grammar the other day which detailed my initial thoughts on the upcoming LCD Soundsystem remixes package, which went a little something like this...

"On first listen... They're all pretty great. The Windsurf remix is nice and spacey and a little proggy. More of a tripped-out cover than a remix though. Soulwax's take on 'Get Innocuous!' is surprisingly subtle and not the durr-durr-durr overload I was expecting. Gucci Soundsystem amp up the funk in 'Time To Get Away' turning it into a tough little electro-cowbell-house doozy. Major plaudits reserved for Carl Craig who turns in a crowdpleasing tech-soul re-fit of 'Sound Of Silver'. Points deducted for the slightly lazy fade-out at the end but it's probably because it could have gone on for days without it.

All in all; OMFG! DFA is teh shiznit!"

I still stand by these sentiments now I've had quite a few more listens. The fade at the end of the Carl Craig mix still bugs me as it needs at least another three minutes and I've cooled a little on the Gucci Soundsystem mix of 'Time To Get Away', but the Windsurf cover of 'Us Vs. Them' gets better everytime I hear it and I'm still surprised by Soulwax's display of subtlety while working over 'Get Innocuous!'. It'd be unethical to post one of them at this early juncture but I'm sure I'll get around to it at some point so keep an eye out.

This is essentially a really lazy Sunday afternoon post to show you, if nothing else, that I speak to people I know exactly like how I write on this thing.

Just one more thing; Shit Robot was excellent last night at Get Girl. Kill Baddies. Save Planet. banging out a tough, funky techno set that really got the crowd moving. He dropped this little blinder from about four years ago and it was most definitely the tune of the night, in my opinion...

Freeform Five - Perspex Sex (Ewan Pearson's Hi-NRG Mix)

Earlier in the night, I played a brief set to two - count 'em - punters (note: they were both friends of mine too). I couldn't really have expected any more than that as I was on at 9pm and it didn't really get rocking until midnight anyway, but I had fun all the same. Here, if you're interested, is what I played, roughly in order...

Västkustska Ryggdunkarsällskapet - Town Out Of Order
Don Armando's Second Avenue Rhumba Band - I'm An Indian, Too
Ministry - I Wanted To Tell Her
Shocking Pinks - SmokeScreen
Liquid Liquid - Optimo
Stevie Wonder - Do Like You
Hamilton Bohannon - Let's Start The Dance III (FK Instrumental Club Mix)
Chic - I Want Your Love (Todd Terje Edit)
Chaz Jankel - Glad To Know You
J.A.M. - Number One

That may look like a pretty great set written down, but wait 'til you hear it complimented by my shitty mixing skills. Hot like fiya!

Also, you can now join the Yer Mam! facebook group, should you be interested in such a thing.

Laters,

JMx